Letter from Sultan Abd ul-Hamid to Sufi Shaykh concerning Zionism

The following is a translation of a letter (which may or may not be authentic; hence it could be a fabrication like the infamous *Protocols of the Elders of Zion*) purporting to be written in 1911 by the last Ottoman Sultan, Sultan Abd ul-Hamid, to the Shadhili Sufi shaykh, Mohammad Efendi Abu Shamat, on the subject of the pressure brought on him by the "Young Turks" to establish a Jewish State in Palestine. This translation resides on islam.ru , a Russian Islamic website.
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In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful! Let Allah, the God of the Worlds, be praised. Let there be peace and blessings upon the Prophet Mohammad, missionary of the God of the World. I address the respected sheikh of the Shazali tariqat Mohammad Efendi Abu Shamat, the healer of the souls and the flasher of the hearts, the outstanding man of his times. After the greetings I want to say that I got your message of this May 22 and I thank Allah that you are in good health.

My lord, God being my helper, I devote days and nights to reciting virds and I ask to always remember me in Your prayers. Let me share with You, and with lucid-minded people, my worries in respect of one very important question:

I left the post of the ruler of Caliphate only because of the obstacles and threats on the side of people who call them "Young Turks". "The Committee of Unity and Progress" (Ataturk was one of its leaders, the comment of the translator) obsessively insist on my agreement to form a national Jewish state in the sacred land of Palestine. But in spite of their obstinacy I strongly refused them. In the end they offered me 150 mln English pounds in gold, but again I refused and said the following to them.

" If you offer me all the gold of the world adding it to your 150 man, I won´t agree to give you the land. I have served the Islam and the people of Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon him, for more than 30 years, and I won´t cloud the Islamic history, the history of my fathers and grand fathers –Ottoman sultans and caliphs".

After my definite refusal they decided to remove me from power, and after that they told me that they would transport me to Salonika and I had to resign. I praise my benefactor who didn´t let me bring shame on the Ottoman state and the Islamic world. I want to stop at this. I praise the Almighty once again and finish my letter. I kiss Your noble hands and hope that You won´t refuse my respect for You. Greet all our brothers and friends, oh, my excellent teacher. Forgive me for such a long letter but I wanted You to be informed.

Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah upon You.
Verger of the believers, Abdul-Hamid ibn Abdul-Madgid.
29 Ramadan 1329.
September 22 1911.